In Another Lifetime I Would've Hated You
by Anastasia The Goddess of Drama
Summary: A Series of one-shots/drabbles of Narcissa/James for The OTP AU! Competition III. *COMPLETED* Currently: Sirius and Harry sets James on a Blind Date.
1. Nice To Meet You

**Written for OTP AU Competition**

 **Prompt: AU 24 hours Hour Convenience Store**

 **Pairing: Narcissa and James**

* * *

Narcissa thanked God that there was such a thing as a 24 hour convenience store, or she would have been totally screwed. She was hosting her extended family and it had been an utter disaster so far. It seemed that her house was filled with nothing but loud, heated arguments, combined with the bitter tension of grudges still standing against the test of time.

The blonde was actually quite tired of hearing Bellatrix throw Andromeda's past in her face. Hadn't Andy come back from her mistake, admitting that it was stupid for her to leave? Hadn't she done the unspeakable and begged Bella to forgive her? Shouldn't this have been resolved five years ago? Not to mention the fact that Sirius and Regulus bicker over anything that strayed into their line of sight. They were polar opposites like Bellatrix and Andromeda, and Narcissa guessed that she'd just been getting her hopes up, thinking things would be fine and dandy over this Thanksgiving week.

Her main problem however lied in the present, she had to run to the store and buy individual drinks for her family. Apparently what she had to offer wasn't to their liking. Narcissa guessed that she should just be glad that they stopped arguing and agreed on something for once. She pulled her coat closer to her as the wind started to pick up, increasing her pace and rushing into the store.

The inside of the store was practically empty, expect for the cashier. He had been leaning back in his seat, looking absolutely bored, but had perked up when the bell on the door announced Narcissa's presence. She ignored him completely as she made her way to the drink area. Bellatrix wanted dark coffee, Andromeda wanted hot chocolate, Sirius wanted a multi-flavored icee, and Regulus wanted tea. Lucius had asked for something too, but she had deliberately forgotten what it was. The last couple of years of their marriage had bordered on estrangement, his job the main cause of it. Too many times she had gone to outings by herself; too many times she had to make up excuses as to why he was never with her; too many times had she spent the night sleeping alone; too many times she had to turn the other way from his affair with his assistant. But nobody knew about this, not even her sisters. Narcissa didn't want to hear Bellatrix bragging about how she was right about him all along, or see Andromeda's pity stares. It was for the best that this remained her dirty little secret.

"Need help?" Narcissa turned around to face the cashier.

She was immediately rendered silent, struck by how handsome he was up close. Kind, hazel eyes shone at her from under messy jet black hair. She swallowed hard and slowly nodded her head, knowing that it would be difficult to carry four drinks by herself. He offered her a lopsided grin and grabbed two of the four cups, leading her over to the cash register with the remaining two.

"That'll be $6.39." He said, and Narcissa went through her purse looking for the money.

"What brings you here at such a late hour?" He asked, as she paid him.

"My sisters and cousins have come down for Thanksgiving, and apparently the beverages I had at home weren't to their liking." Narcissa answered bitterly.

"So they sent you out into the freezing cold?" He asked incredulously.

"Basically." She admitted with a half-smile.

"They sound like horrible relatives."

"They're not too bad, I'm just glad they stopped bickering long enough to agree on something."

He just chuckled and shook his head, "Do you want me to help you out?"

"Yes, thank you...you're so kind." Narcissa added.

"No problem." He answered.

The cashier stepped out from behind the counter and picked up two of the cups again, following Narcissa out to her car. The winds had lessened slightly, but that didn't stop a chill from running down Narcissa's spine. She shuddered violently, before putting the cups on top of her car, and unlocking the door. Once everything was inside, she turned to the cashier and smiled.


	2. The Hufflepuff Black

**Round 2 of the OTP AU! Competition**

 **Prompt: The Black Sheep of the Family**

 **Pairing: Narcissa and James**

* * *

Narcissa Black stood out like a beacon amongst the rest of her family members. Her striking blonde hair, and blue eyes, were the first things that made her the Black Sheep of the family. Second was her personality, she was too kind and didn't know how to be harsh like her relatives. At this point there was no hope at all for her that she would be identified as a true member of 'The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black'. Druella and Cygnus couldn't figure out what they did wrong, as they has treated Narcissa the same way they did Bellatrix and Andromeda ever since she was born. Her sisters had grown up as ideal members of the House of Black, and even Sirius had made the adults proud! And that boy caused more trouble than anybody else.

She had quite honestly dreaded going to Hogwarts because she feared that the Sorting Hat would prove everybody right. That she was not meant to be a Black, that there was some sort of mistake. Andromeda said that it didn't matter what house she got sorted into, but Bellatrix said she would disown her immediately if the Sorting Hat didn't scream 'Slytherin'.

It honestly was quite stressful.

So when September 1st came around, Narcissa was practically out of the house. She didn't want to go to Hogwarts, where everybody would judge her. Where she could possibly be disowned and cast out onto the streets (Anything was possible when the pride of the Black family name was at stake). Why couldn't she go to Durmstrang, or even Beauxbaton, where there were no houses and all this could easily be avoided? But her parents wouldn't hear of it, and she was now on the Hogwarts Express. She sighed mournfully as the train started to leave the station.

In a couple of hours they would be at Hogwarts.

In a couple of hours she would be sorted.

In a couple of hours her whole life would change.

This scared Narcissa the most. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice the compartment door being opened.

"Hello, do you mind if we sit here?"

'We?' Narcissa thought, before taking her eyes away from the window to look at the three boys.

The boy in the front had untidy jet black hair that stuck up at the back, and hazel eyes. Beside him were two other boys, one of them was fidgeting nervously, his watery blue eyes flickering back and forth as if he was waiting for something. He was over-weight and had mousy brown hair. The other one was tall and thin, with green eyes and light brown hair, sporting faded scars across his face.

"No, not at all." Narcissa forced out, with a smile to match.

They filed in and sat down on the empty seats across from her.

"James Potter, and these are my friends Remus and Peter." Said the boy with the hazel eyes, pointing each boy out.

"Narcissa Black." She replied, looking out the window.

When it became obvious that she would not speak any further, the boys jumped into their own conversation. They spoke about things like Quidditch, where they came from, and what they were expecting at Hogwarts. Narcissa busied herself with thoughts of the holidays, her birthday, and what food Hogwarts would serve.

"Um...Narcissa." The voice was quiet, and Narcissa turned to face Remus.

"What house do you want to be in?"

She froze in fear.

Narcissa hadn't really thought about what house she actually wanted. She was so concerned about being disowned and trying to prove her family wrong that she hadn't thought about her own desires. And why should she? She had enough stress just getting into Slytherin.

"I don't know." Narcissa answered, looking down.

"Oh, well we all decided to be in Gryffindor." James announced proudly.

Narcissa thought hard about the houses and remembered that Gryffindor was known for being brave, daring, and chivalrous. She didn't identify with that...in fact she was more of a Hufflepuff. She valued hard work, dedication, patience, loyalty, and fair play. But she was also a Slytherin, ambitious and resourceful. Hopefully the Sorting Hat would agree that she was more Slytherin than Hufflepuff.

"It's a good choice." Narcissa admitted, "But I don't think I have the...qualities for it."

Remus chuckled, "Qualities? Sounds like something a Ravenclaw would say."

Narcissa forced a smile, "Well, I guess we'll see."

* * *

"Black, Narcissa."

Narcissa felt her heart drop as she made her way towards the stool. She felt everybody's eyes on her as she sat down; Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head and darkness surrounded her.

 _Another Black, eh?_

Narcissa didn't know how to respond so she remained quiet.

 _Not at all like the ones who have come before you._

'What do you mean?'

 _I find it very curious that you're not certain about what you want. Every Black that I have rightfully sorted into Slytherin, wanted it. With every fibre of their being they had an intense desire to be in the house of cunning, resourcefulness, self-preservation, ambition, cleverness, and fraternity. You represent none of these things. In fact you are loyal, patient, kind, and tolerant._

'The House of Hufflepuff...' Narcissa thought weakly. 'But I don't want to be in that house! I belong in Slytherin, I want to be in Slytherin'-

 _Do you? Or are you just saying that because that's what your family wants?_

Narcissa paused. 'Does it really matter? These are just school houses, they don't decide who we are or what we'll grow up to be. It's our life choices that define us.'

 _Spoken like a true Ravenclaw. This is actually quite difficult._

Whispers could be heard throughout the whole Great Hall as Narcissa's sorting took longer than usual.

"What can they possibly be talking about?" Bellatrix hissed.

"Houses, of course." Andromeda sighed, "She must have some qualities of all of them."

"She belongs in Slytherin!" Bellatrix countered, "If she gets anything else then she's not a true Black!"

"Bella you can't possibly be serious…"

"I am, she better prove to the Sorting Hat that she's a Slytherin!"

"And if she can't?"

Bellatrix looked Andromeda square in the eye. "Then she's proved that she doesn't have the strong willpower of a Black…and will have to face the consequences."

'I need to be in Slytherin. Please put me into Slytherin.'

 _But that is not what you want. Forget about your family, what do you want?_

Narcissa didn't know what she wanted. It was very foreign to her for somebody to be asking for her opinion on anything. She supposed that Hufflepuff wouldn't be too bad, but-

 _I see it in your head, and feel it in your heart. You belong in…_

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The room went silent and Narcissa could have sworn that her heart dropped into her stomach.

This couldn't be happening.

But it was and suddenly Narcissa was making her way towards the Hufflepuff table. Her legs were operating on autopilot as her mind was still trying to catch up to what had just happened. Everyone just stared at her as if she was an alien, or if she had abruptly grown two heads.

"Hello, my name is Ted. Ted Tonks." Said a boy that was in his third year.

"Narcissa Black."

"Don't worry about them." Ted said, gesturing towards the other Hufflepuffs, "They'll get over the shock…eventually."

"It's not them I'm worried about." Narcissa sighed, as the Sorting continued.

"Black, Sirius!"

Narcissa watched as her cousin swaggered over to the stool before sitting on it. Professor McGonagall had barely placed the hat on his head before it shouted "Slytherin!"

"Oh, that's just bloody great." Narcissa mumbled.

* * *

Narcissa was nearly in tears as her sisters and Sirius walked away. She didn't want Hufflepuff, the Sorting Hat had chosen for her. It wasn't her fault at all, unlike what Bellatrix had claimed minutes ago. Even Sirius had poked fun at her and said that she wasn't a true Black, that she was a mistake and the Sorting Hat had proved it.

"Hey, don't listen to them."

Narcissa looked up and found herself staring into the familiar hazel eyes of James Potter.

"But…they're right."

"No, they're not." James said firmly, "Want to be friends? You seem nice enough."

Narcissa couldn't help but smile at his weird offer. "I'd like to think so."

"See? We get along great, now what do you say?" James asked, offering his hand.

Narcissa stared at it for a moment before taking it, "Hello, my name is Narcissa Black, Hufflepuff."

He gave her a lopsided grin, "James Potter, Gryffindor."


	3. Love Letters From Nobody

**Round 3 for OTP AU Competition**

 **Prompt: Anonymous Love Letters**

 **Pairing: Narcissa/James**

* * *

James Potter was a very handsome young man that had all the girls lusting after him. So it wouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that James received a lot of love letters, especially around Valentine's Day. But there was one set of love letters that was continuously being sent to him, and he wanted to figure out who the culprit was. James figured that it must be Lily finally admitting her feelings to him, but she just didn't know how to say it.

"How do you know they're from her? They could be from anybody." Remus countered, during lunch one day.

"Who else could it be? The other girls might like me, but none of them are this detailed!" James pointed out, "it's the only reasonable explanation."

Remus sighed, "Why can't you accept the fact that it's somebody else?"

But James wouldn't hear of it, he truly believed that it was Lily Evans, despite the fact that the girl didn't like him. He would find them everywhere, slipped into his books, or waiting to be discovered at the bottom of his bag. They were written with a passion, the style varying from regular letters, to poetry, to even a riddle. The most recent one was cliché and cheesy:

 _Roses are Red_

 _Violets are Blue_

 _Out of a million boys_

 _I'd choose you_

 _Take my hand_

 _And hold me close_

 _Show me who_

 _You love the most_

It didn't occur to James for even a moment that Lily would never write anything like this. She had shown little interest in him and hated poetry of all sorts. But he was too excited by the prospect of the letter to acknowledge common sense. Remus and Peter had tried to stop him from making a fool out of himself, saying that it could be any girl in the school. But James was sure that it was her. Today was the day he'd make his move.

James followed Lily and Narcissa into the library with the love letters in hand. The moment that they sat down, James quickly confronted them.

"Hello Lily, Narcissa." James said, smiling at the girls.

"Hello James!" Narcissa greeted cheerfully, as Lily muttered her answer with disdain.

"What do you want?"

James placed the collection of love letters on the table and looked back at the girls expectantly. He had missed Narcissa's immediate reaction, a blush forming and a goofy smile appearing on her face, and had solely been looking at Lily.

"James, what are these?" Lily asked, looking down at the letters, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"Your love letters, of course." James said.

Narcissa's smile immediately vanished, and she abruptly got up.

"Excuse me, I have to go." Narcissa choked out hurriedly as her voice began to crack.

"These aren't mine." Lily sighed, handing back the letters.

James scowled, he was back to square one and didn't know where to start. But before he continued on with the search of his mystery crush, he went to check on Narcissa.

"Why did you leave all of a sudden?" James asked, once the two of them were alone.

"Because I was the one who wrote those letters, you arsehole!" Narcissa blurted out.

James stared at her and blinked, "What?"

Narcissa groaned in frustration, "It was me sending you all those letters! It's me that likes you, not sodding Lily! It's quite incredible that you thought it was Lily all this time!" Narcissa continued on, ranting now. "She doesn't even like you! She thinks that you're a self-centred, pig-headed, arse…and maybe she's bloody right!"

Narcissa started to storm off before turning around. "And in case you haven't heard, she's dating Severus!"

And with that final barb she was gone, leaving James feeling like a complete idiot.


	4. No Longer A Game

**Round 4 of OTP AU! Competition**

 **Prompt: Fake Dating**

 **Beta: Checkmate-13**

* * *

Narcissa sighed as she looked up at the boy named James Potter, the one that was friends with her annoying cousin, Sirius. She had been ignoring him for the past twenty minutes, but he didn't seem to be going away anytime soon.

"What is it, Potter?" She finally snapped, her pale blue eyes glaring at him.

"Why the angry face, Black?" James asked innocently.

"Maybe the fact that you have been following me relentlessly, now tell me what you want!" She hissed.

"Go out with me."

Narcissa blinked once, "Wha-what?"

James smirked, "Have I rendered you speechless? Don't worry, it'll all be fake."

"What are you playing at?" Narcissa demanded.

"Just listen. As everybody knows, I'm completely in love with Lily...but she doesn't feel that way about me. So I thought the only way to provoke an emotion out of her would be to make her jealous, and you're the perfect candidate!"

"Why me? There's literally hundreds of other girls here." Narcissa countered.

"Ah, but only one _you. '_ Slytherin's Princess' with 'Gryffindor's prankster' is eye-catching, not to mention, scandalous." James pointed out, "She'll hear about it immediately. It may take a while, but she'll eventually admit that she's jealous and it'll work out for everyone!"

"No, not _everyone_ _!_ " Narcissa disputed, "I don't want any part of this. Go find someone else!"

"Oh come on Narcissa, just this one little favor." He pleaded, "I'll do anything if you agree."

She raised an eyebrow, "Anything?"

James nodded, and Narcissa sighed, "Fine."

The next day the fake dating started with James having his arm thrown around Narcissa's waist and her laughing at his jokes. This alone had caused people to stare at them as they walked through Hogwarts and went to their classes.

"Is it true that you're going out with Potter?" A girl asked in the library one day.

"Yes," Narcissa said with a smile. "It happened all at once. He's the perfect gentleman despite his...childish acts on other students and good-natured pranks-"

"You're out of your bloody mind to date him." Lily had interrupted.

The group of girls that surrounded Narcissa, gasped at the outburst to the Slytherin Princess. They held their breath as they waited for Narcissa's reaction.

"Why is that Lily?" Narcissa asked calmly, "You don't think that he has nice qualities?"

"He's a stuck-up prick that thinks he's better than everybody." Lily argued, "I don't see how that's attractive."

"Because that's not all there is to him." Narcissa answered, "He's extremely loyal, funny, _passionate,_ (She had thrown that word in to watch for Lily's reaction, who just huffed) and he's grown from that immature boy that you still picture him as. Of course you're so bitter that you wouldn't even notice that would you? You can't see the good in him because of what he's done to Severus. If you knew what James has done _for_ Severus, you'd see James in a different light. Alas, to regretfully quote a muggle, 'You don't know what you have, until it's gone'."

The girls broke into whispers as Narcissa got up and walked towards Lily, "But I suppose that just makes _me_ an incredibly lucky girl, doesn't it?"

Then she was gone, leaving silence in her awake.

Before long, the fake dating was no longer a game, it had become something more. Times where the laughter and jokes were true, and the kisses became more intimate and passionate than they should have been. James no longer cared that Lily was finally getting jealous of their relationship, and Narcissa had long fights and arguments with Bellatrix and her parents about continuing it on. In a few months they had become something more, and had no plans of ending things any time soon.


	5. Love At First Date

**Round 5 of OTP AU! Competition**

 **Prompt: Blind Dating**

 **Pairing: Narcissa/James**

* * *

James should have known something was up by the way his best friend Sirius, and his son Harry, were acting. They were constantly whispering and just a bit too friendly with their greetings. They had been pestering him to start dating again, now that Lily had been deceased for over five years. They wanted James to be happy and they ultimately figured that it should be with a woman.

"Alright, what are you two planning?" James asked, turning to face the duo.

"Dad, I know you have said time and time again that you don't need a date, but it wouldn't hurt to go on one." Harry said, "And it's not like you have to force yourself to like the date. Just this one, Dad."

James looked at his son and friend, before sighing, "Fine. Who is it?"

"One of my cousins." Sirius said.

"You set me up with Bellatrix?" James asked, alarmed. "Really, Sirius, that's a bit absurd."

"No, not Bellatrix, she has two younger sisters." Sirius said, "I'm talking about the youngest, her name is Narcissa. She is recently divorced because her husband was a bastard, and she finally realized that. She has a son Harry's age, and they have been living in France for some time now, but Narcissa just moved back to London two months ago. Andromeda, the other sister, has been trying to get Narcissa to date again, and I volunteered you."

"And why haven't you spoken about her?" James asked.

"The same reason I don't talk about Bellatrix."

"She's all about purity too? Well yeah, this will be a date from hell."

"But Dad, she's probably not as bad as Bellatrix." Harry pointed out, "And if she is, and you guys don't get along, then you won't have to see her again."

James looked between his friend and his son and sighed, "Alright, fine."

* * *

"This is absolutely ridiculous!" Narcissa exclaimed, turning to her older sisters. "I don't need a date, I'm perfectly fine being single."

Bellatrix gave Narcissa a look, "So you're planning on masturbating for the rest of your life?"

"Bella!" Narcissa exclaimed, her face turning red.

"One of the benefits of being in a relationship is sex, and if you're planning to be single then you'll be resorting to masturbation." Bellatrix stated, "It's a known fact."

Andromeda glared at Bellatrix, "That's not the reason why we're setting this date up. Well I'm not. Besides it's a one-time thing."

"If you don't like 'blind dating' and you hate the guy, then we'll let you chose." Bellatrix said, "Even if you do a sucky job of picking the right mate."

"You intimidating me is not making me want to go on the date."

"This isn't intimidation, I can give you intimidation if you need…" Bellatrix offered ominously.

"We're getting off topic." Andromeda said loudly, "So, what do you say, Cissy?"

Narcissa looked at both of her sisters before sighing, "Fine."

* * *

James fidgeted with his tie, hating that he had to dress formally for the date. He waited patiently at the table in the fancy restaurant, drumming his fingers on the polished wood. This was the first time in years that he'd actually been in a Muggle one, and he felt a tug in his heart. But before he could sink into the past, a woman cleared her throat. He looked up, meeting the eyes of a beautiful blonde wearing a beige dress.

"Hello, I'm Narcissa Black." She said.

"James Potter." He replied with a slight smile.

Maybe this blind date wasn't a bad idea.


End file.
